UK Government Considering Paying Authors A Fee When Their Ebooks Are Checked Out From A Library

As a kid when I wanted to search for information, my best bet would be to either ask my parents, go through thick and heavy encyclopedias (some of you guys might remember them), or head to the library and go through books one by one. Now with technology, tapping a few keys on the keyboard, a couple of clicks and I would have found what I want, thus reducing the need for me or a lot of people to actually visit the library. In a bid to make sure that libraries remain relevant and up to date with the latest technology, such as providing ebooks and the likes, the UK government is considering paying writers royalty every time their ebooks or audio books are “checked out” from the library.

As it stands, authors whose physical books are checked out from the library are being paid a certain amount, and to help encourage publishers to provide digital copies of printed material, the UK government is looking to extend the same service to them as well. Some publishers along with writers have expressed their concern that digital lending would not encourage readers to purchase their books again. We guess that makes sense to a certain degree as digital copies can be easily downloaded on the internet, thus saving the reader money and time in the process, and if readers were to borrow it digitally, there really is not much difference.

In fact some publishers have gone on to suggest that ebooks should “deteriorate”, basically forcing books to be repurchased the same way physical books can be worn out and break apart over time. It is an interesting notion but what do you guys think? Should publishers move on from that mindset and start treating ebooks as an entirely new type of intellectual property?